Guarded
by SVUjunkie2011
Summary: Elliot may be back in her life but that doesn't mean Olivia is ready to let her guard down around him just yet.


**Oh how I wish these characters were mine. I know I have other stories going right now but I managed to get this new story's first chapter finished before the other updates I have started. Hopefully I will have an Unwritten update soon, I've got a couple pages wrote as of right now.**

She sits alone at the bar. Fin had invited her to join him and the rest of the guys for drinks but she had been fast to decline. She's two months into her retirement and while she does still talk to people from the squad she isn't ready to see them again yet. So she sits alone in a bar near her apartment, one she has frequented for years. She is slowly nursing her second beer. When she finishes it she will call it a night and make the small trek back to her apartment. Olivia had made small talk with Sam, the bartender, when she had first walked in but hadn't talked to anyone since. Olivia is about to call it a night when she feels a hand on her shoulder, she turns her head to look at the person behind her. At first she doesn't know what to say. After two years she is a little dumbfounded when it comes to him. Two years and not so much as a call or text, just a simper fi necklace and a mini replica of his badge. How was she supposed to interact with him when she still had so much hurt and anger toward him?

"Thought I might find you here," Elliot says as he sits on the stool beside her. He knew he would have to break the ice and speak first.

Olivia watches him, she can't take her eyes off him. Elliot can see all the emotions in her eyes and he isn't sure which she will unleash on him first. While he waits for her response he lets his eyes skim over her. She is wearing a dark purple fitted v-neck shirt and jeans that he imagines make her ass look amazing. Her hair is longer then he had ever seen it when they were partners.

"What do you want, Elliot?" Olivia finally says. She hasn't turned back to face him yet instead she watches him from the mirror behind the bar. Olivia watches him eyeing her, seeing how much she had changed since he left the force.

"Heard it through the grapevine that you put your papers in, officially retired," Elliot says. Before she can respond he has caught the attention of the bartender and ordered a scotch.

Olivia finishes the last of her beer and says "heard it through the grapevine? I wasn't aware you still talked to your brothers in blue or was it just me and the rest of the squad you stopped talking to?"

Before Elliot has a chance to respond Olivia is up and out the door. The bartender sits his glass of scotch down in front of him. He isn't going to chase after her because he knows she needs time to process so he sits there and nurses his drink for a while.

xXx

It's a short walk to her apartment but the whole time Olivia's mind has been going a mile a minute. She takes the stairs because the elevator is too slow. Once outside her door she fumbles with her keys until she finds the one that opens her door. She jams it in the lock and twists the door open. Once inside the safety of her apartment she feels like she can breath again.

Olivia tosses the keys on the counter and grabs a glass from the dish rack beside the sink. Alcohol was never the answer, Olivia knew that but right now she needs to calm down, numb her senses. There are so many things she needs to say to him, ask him. Hell she wants to yell at him. Instead she had ran from him like she always has. She curses herself for not staying at bar, standing her ground. But dammit she is pissed as hell at him. After downing the glass of whiskey she refills it and heads to her bedroom. Maybe a bath will soothe her a little she thinks. Olivia sits the glass on the bedside table. Once her shoes and socks off she stands and takes her tshirt off and tosses it on the floor then she unbuttons and unzips her jeans. After shimmering out of them they join the shirt on the floor. She will pick them up later but right now she needs that bath.

She makes the short walk into her bathroom and flips the light on. Looking around she locates the matches she keeps to light her scented candles. Once they are lit she turns the water and let's the tub fill up. From the cabinet she grabs her rarely used bubble bath and added it to the water. While the tub is filling up Olivia walks back into her room to retrieve her bathrobe. Before she grabs the robe she reaches behind her to unhook her bra, it soon joins her discarded work clothes on the floor. Her panties are soon to follow. When she is completely naked she takes the robe and heads back to the bathroom. She hangs the robe in the back of the bathroom door before stepping into the almost full tub. Before she had stepped in the tub Olivia grabsa hair clip from her bathroom vanity and twists her up against her head. She slips into the water and let's out a sigh. The warm water feels amazing against her olive skin. Before her retirement taking a bath was a rarity for Olivia. When the water starts to get cold she turns the hot water on to warm the tub back up. After a while the water has gone completely cold and her glass of whiskey is empty again.

Olivia steps out of the tub and drains it before reaching for her silky purple robe on the back of the bathroom door. She's always loved how silk felt against her skin so rather then get dressed right away she opts to stay in her robe for the time being. With a towel on her head Olivia wanders back into the kitchen for a glass of wine. Now that there's no chance she will be called to a crime scene in the middle of the night she allows herself to drink a little more. Realizing she hasn't ate much since lunch Olivia picks up her cell and with a few quick clicks she's ordering some Chinese, sure she has more food in her house than she used to but often she ends up ordering takeout anyway. It's Friday night so there's a thirty minute wait for her food to be delivered so Olivia takes her glass of wine to the living room and lays down on the couch. She must have drifted off because the knock at her door startles her. It takes her a moment to get reoriented before she stands and grabs her wallet from the counter. Opening her door she is shocked to see Elliot standing there with her takeout in his hand.

"What do you want, Elliot? Why do you have my Chinese?" Olivia says as she reaches for her food, prepared to slam the door in his face.

"I caught the delivery guy as he was about to buzz your apartment, told him I was your boyfriend. I gave him the money and used my key to get into your building. I knew you wouldn't buzz me up," Elliot responded, "going to invite me in?"

"Why should I? Elliot, I haven't seen or heard from you in two years and suddenly you show up out the blue wanting to talk? I wanted to talk two fucking years ago, El. I thought we were more than just partners, I thought we were friends but I guess I was wrong because I had to hear from the captain that you had put your papers in. We were partners for thirteen fucking years, didn't I at least deserve to hear it from you?" Olivia said.

"Please just let me in so I can explain some things. Hear me out then if you want I will leave. Just give me a chance, Olivia. That's all I'm asking," Elliot begs.

Olivia opens the door and allows him to enter her apartment.

"I'm going to go change. Have a seat, I'll be out in a few minutes," Olivia says as she sits the almost forgotten food on the counter. She turns and heads for the bedroom.

Inside her room she lets out the breath she had been holding before she grabs a sports bra and panties from her underwear draw. She then retrieves an NYPD t-shirt and yoga pants from her pajama draw. She unities the robe and let's it fall to the floor, she slips the panties on and pulls the bra over her head. Next she pulls the yoga pants on before reaching for the shirt. To give herself more time Olivia pulls the towel off her and head and walks into the bathroom to brush out her shoulder length hair. She tosses the brush on the bathroom counter and turns the light off. At the bedroom door she pauses, she will let him talk then tell him to leave.


End file.
